In situ 27Al NMR kinetic investigation of zeolite A crystallization

Abstract In this study, in situ 27 Al NMR spectroscopy was used to gain detailed information concerning kinetics of zeolite A crystallization. Changes of relative intensity and width at half-height of NMR lines at 59 ppm ascribed to Al(OSi) 4 solid structures units and at 79 ppm to Al(OH) 4 − ions in liquid phase during crystallization, were observed. Normalized curves for series of synthesis, performed under different batch molar composition, were used for kinetic analysis applying Sharp and Hancock approach. The influence of total batch Na 2 O concentration (H 2 O/Na 2 O was 20 and 32) for three specific batch SiO 2 /Al 2 O 3 molar ratios (1.7, 2.0 and 2.5) on the kinetic parameters was investigated. Kinetic analysis of line at 79 ppm provided values of parameter n that ranged from 0.93 to 1.97 indicating contribution of both diffusion and phase boundary controlled mechanisms, depending on batch SiO 2 /Al 2 O 3 molar composition. On the other hand, analysis of line at 59 ppm showed strong correlation to Na 2 O batch content. Values of n from 1.94 to 3.34 for syntheses performed at lower alkalinity conditions (H 2 O/Na 2 O = 32) indicate Avrami–Erofe’ev nucleation and crystal growth model. Almost dominant presence of diffusion mechanism for synthesis conducted at higher alkalinity conditions (H 2 O/Na 2 O = 20) was verified by obtained values of n gathered around 1.5.